Zoology is the study of animals. Here at the Loyal¹ Zoological Society we've created a place where you can talk about animals, read about animals and even write about animals, if you feel so inclined.

Reading About Animals

The h2g2 Edited Guide has hundreds of Entries about animals. The members of the Loyal Zoological Society have worked with the Editors to produce a categorisation system for animals. You can see the results of this at C102 Animals. There are four main categories of animals:

• Vertebrates - this is the group we're most familiar with, as it includes us, and anything else with a backbone.

• Creepy Crawlies (Arthropods) - all those guys with lots of legs, including flies, spiders, beetles, crabs and lobsters.

• Soft and Squidgy (Molluscs) - shellfish, squids and slugs and snails all belong in this category.

• Miscellaneous Animals - this includes things like jellyfish, sponges, starfishes and worms as well as some really weird ones like water bears.

The Vertebrates are further subdivided into:

• Amphibians
• Birds
• Fish
• Mammals
• Reptiles

We know there are more precise ways of dividing up the Animal Kingdom, but we don't want to complicate things unnecessarily.

Researcher Gnomon is working on a more detailed classification system for anybody who is interested, but it's not finished yet.

Writing About Animals

Have you got an animal that isn't mentioned in the Guide? Or have you read a lot about a particular wild animal and feel you could write an Entry about it? Let us know in the conversations below and we'll help you get it ready for the Guide.

Here are some entries about animals that are in Peer Review at the moment. Why don't you have a read of them and leave a few comments to say what you think?

Talking about Animals

You can talk to others about animals by just starting a conversation at the end of this page. Here are links to some conversations about animals that have taken place in other parts of h2g2:

• British Bird or not?
• Bird Census
• Fitting an animal with solar panels
• Science Explained: Internal vs External Skeletons
• Fox. This conversation includes the pros and cons of Fox hunting.
• Question about Cat Food in the UK
• Do Elephants have Periods?
• A Beautiful Pair - a conversation about gardening to encourage wildlife.
• Why do vultures and buzzards get such a bad rep?

Pictures of Animals

Over at the Loyal Zoological Society Picture Library, we've assembled a collection of obscure pictures from the nooks and crannies of h2g2 for you to use in your own entries. Once again, this is a work in progress, so if you come across any other pictures which are not on our list and not in the official h2g2 Picture Library - Animals, just let us know.

Joining the Loyal Zoological Society

As you can see from our member list, we're still a small society, but we're growing fast. If you want to join us, just let us know in the conversation at the bottom of this entry, or the one at the bottom of the member list page. You should then subscribe to this page, so that you are kept aware of any conversations, announcements etc.